Author Archives: GHCG

Summer Update

July 20, 2018

Hi everyone

Wowow what a summer! I’ve never know such a long HOT dry spell in my time as a grower. We’ve got wrinkled blueberries and wilted bolting lettuce, and some seeds that daren’t even poke through the hot dry soil.  It is only thanks to the tireless effort of Pete and the volunteers that much of the garden isn’t a wasteland!  We generally don’t do that much watering out of the polytunnels but it’s been all hands to the pump this year. We had managed so far from our well which usually supplies the whole site but now from today we’re on the mains. Eeeeek! Still it should be a good year for aubergines and melons!

      

The summer holidays are here and as usual we’re running loads of great activities for kids in the garden!  We’ve got adventure days running every Tuesday and there’s currently spaces left on 24th July, 21st August and 28th August so get in quick and spread the word if you know any 5-12 yr old adventurers who’d like a journey through time and garden!  It’s 10am-4pm £26 (£21 siblings) and you can book directly here

We’re also happy to be running more of our family adventure days aimed at families with a child/ren with SEN and their siblings!  These days are a lovely mix of silliness, sensory play, pond dipping and nature exploration and we’ll enjoy a freshly picked salad from the garden and pizza that we’ll prepare together cooked in the clay frog.  Just £5 per child as we’re funded by the Quartet foundation.  11am-3pm Thursday July 26th and Thursdays 16th and 30th August.  To book on click here   

And we’ll have the last two Sunday Clubs for families with children with SEN on Sunday August 5th and Sunday 2nd September. 2pm-4pm!  Come along for more of the above, no need to book.  

And finally we have cast the runes and peered longs and hard into the auspicious hummus pot of wisdom and decreed that the Saturday 29th September is the best date for ourharvest fair this year.  So save the date/cancel other plans and if you know any fab musicians or choirs or jugglers or sword swallowers or story tellers or anyone who can help make the day special that start working on them now

See you in the garden!

Lucy Mitchell
Community Project Worker

07506 905 394
ghcgarden@gmail.com
 
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The SPRING FAIR!

May 4, 2018

Hi everyone!

The Spring Fair!! It’s coming!!!
Saturday 12th May 1pm-4pm!

 

If you’ve already been to one of our fairs then you’ll know these are lovely family friendly events, sunshine or rain with lots of old school fun and lots of free kids’ activities.

If you haven’t been before here’s 15 reasons why you should come.
1. Scoff delicious pizza made by Simon the Pizza king straight out the clay oven
2. Buy lovely healthy organic flower and veg seedlings from out plant Ssall
3. Hunt for the gnomes hidden round the garden
4. Pond dipping!  Find a newt… then put it back 🙂
5. Sing along with live music from the fabulous ‘What the Folk’ who put in an heroic performance during the rains of the harvest fair (on at 2:45)
6. Make a beautiful may crown
7. Play giant games
8. Chill out in our quiet area with sensory play
9. Eat lovely homemade cakes
10. Get involved and make some noise with the junk orchestra (running 1pm-4pm)
11. Enjoy our clockwork train 
12. Get your face painted
13. Make merry with the Pigsty Morris Dancers (on at 2:15)
14. Win a mini allotment starter kit in our raffle
15 Come and support a lovely local community garden.
 

Great so that’s decided. you’re all coming. Now tell all your friends, neighbours and family! If you’re on facebook find us, like us and share the post!

And what’s that? What else can you do you ask?? LOTS!  We need cakes please! We also happily accept misshapen biscuits, simple flapjacks and anything sweet you might like to cook – and eat! and we need more volunteers on the day! Have you got a couple of hours spare you could spare to help us set up from 11am or tidy up, or help on a stall?  Let me know!  And be rewarded with the warm glow of knowing you’ve made a good thing a little bit better.
And see you in the garden on the 12th!
All the best
Lucy
Lucy Mitchell
Community Project Worker
ghcgarden@gmail.com
07506 905 394

Farewell Winter! Hellooooo Spring!

March 23, 2018

Hi everyone

Spring!  We made it!  We had an absolutely lovely first day in the spring garden on Wednesday, sun shining, birds singing and seed planting and soup scoffing (thanks Danielle!)
      

​This winter we’ve really needed our weekly soups to keep us warm and this week in time for spring and the end of soup season we’ve just run out of onions.  The stored squash and carrots are nearly gone, we’re done to our last little swedes and kale… hooray for leeks! It’s hard to imagine it was like when people had to feed themselves through this hungry gap before the new veg were ready without a polytunnels or imported veg.  The vitamin rich green watercress or the first rhubarb poking through the soil must have been like emerald and ruby treasures.

  


We’ve got our usual jamp packed kids’ days running this Easter and 5-12 years olds can expect a trip to Never Never Land this time!   ​I am happy to announce we’ve got lottery funding this year to carry on providing our accessible family adventure days to familes with children with a special educational need or a disability.  Our first one in 2018 is on Thursday April 5th 11am-3pm and is just £5 per child and will be a LOVELY day of silliness and games and chance for families to spend time together outside and share a delicious freshly prepared lunch. Please pass on the info to anyone you think might benefit.

And more good news is Pete has found the fab Jeff Hart a straw bale builder and together they have started fixing the hole in our burnt but still beautiful Balehouse. Well done to the tough tods and parents of the Golden Buds, the ‘we-don’t-need-our-coats-on-we’re-not-even-cold’ kids of the afterschool club and the volunteers who’ve survived the winter in the garden with a very very drafty Balehouse.
A dates for your diary The Spring Fair!  12th May!  All offers of help, cake, nusic playing gratefully accepted as normal!  Also we are having our AGM in the Balehouse 7pm Wednesday 11th April, anyone is welcome along if you’d like to hear about the finanicial nitty gritty and and overview of goings on in the garden.
See you in the garden
Lucy
Lucy Mitchell

Community Project Worker

07506 905 394
ghcgarden@gmail.com
 
Please note I work part time usually on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and some Thursdays. 
 
We’ve got a Facebook page if you’re into that AND we’re on Twitter @ghcgarden
 
 

Winter sunshine and Balehouse fire

January 12, 2018

Hi everyone,
If your new year resolutions included trying to get out more, trying something new, learning more,  meeting new people, getting more exercise or eating more vegetables then you can do ALL THESE THINGS at once in the garden and still get to drink tea and eat biscuits. Come join us any Wednesday – January 10am-3pm, Febuary 10am-2pm.  And they’ll be soup, lush veg and maybe even sunshine like this week!
 
Also from next week the fabulous Katrin Vogel from ‘Tweed and Bird’ will be volunteering with us from 1:30-2:15 to help folks mend clothes FOR THREE WEEKS ONLY.  So if you’ve got a beloved jumper that need some attention, or some jeans with holes in the wrong places come down and get some help to do some your sewing in supportive space.
AND STOP PRESS due to a cancellation we currently have one space in our brilliant after school Golden Club so if you know any primary age children that like dens, games, silliness, and running round in the dark and are flooking for all that and more to do on a Tuesday 3:30-5:45 then get in touch!
And in other news we’ve had an ‘interesting’ start to the new fire year with…. a fire! inside the walls of the Balehouse!  It shouldn’t have been able to happen, it never occurred to us that it could happen but it did happen and now our beautiful cosy Balehouse currently has a hole instead of a wall, well it did for a bit, this picture was taken before it got patched up and tidied – Thanks Pete!
Hey ho, it could have been worse and we’ll carry on normal services and get it fixed sharpish, but it was definitely a shock…. but how can we stay upset when we’ve got glorious swedes like these and a whole load of pretty-as-picture polytunnel peas coming on?!
    
See you in the garden!
Lucy
 
Lucy Mitchell
Community Project Worker
ghcgarden@gmail.com
07506 905 394

Garden news! Wreath making! Soup

November 27, 2017

Hi everyone!

 
A belated thanks to everyone who came to the garden for our bonfire last month!  We were packed again and sorry to folks who couldn’t get in to see us burn this chirpy looking fellow in a massive fire and eat this lovely soup
      


A massive thanks to all the volunteers who make these events possible and wonderful, hats off to the Bish Rd PTFA for the fireworks and a round of applause for all you fab folks for turning up and helping us raise over £1000.
 
We’re running our ever popular wreath making workshop again! Saturday 9th December 10am-4pm. You are welcome to drop in throughout the day and making a wreath takes about an hour so please arrive by 3pm. And it’s still just a £10 per wreath. 
   


It’s a fun, friendly and informal session and we’ll provide beautiful foliage, advice and encouragement. You’ll weave a willow ring, decorate it and make something lovely. We have indoor space in case it’s awful weather but wrap up warm. We also provide secateurs and gloves but bring your own if got some nice ones. Children welcome and hot drinks and mince pies available. Please tell all your friends

 
From December the garden closes early and is only open from 10am-3pm on a Wednesday and soup season is definitely upon us so there’s delicious hot food to share at 1pm.  And I’ll leave you with a pic of Emma showing a pumpkin who’s boss and Susie hiding behind the years first celeraic.
     

See you in the garden!
Lucy

The fair! Saturday 13th May! 1-4… and other fun things

April 28, 2017

Hi everyone

It’s all systems go at the community garden! Whether we’re basking in the sun or dodging the hail there’s lots to do. The polytunnels are HEAVING with happy healthy seedlings waiting for you to go out into the beds or be bought by you! 

The Spring Fair is just two weeks away and is going to be a corker! Saturday 13th May 1pm-4pm (please ignore posters where I put the wrong date! It’s def the 13th!) We’ve got some absolutely great live music lined up, loads ofplants for sale, Pigsty Morris will be doing their thing, the storytellers are ready to enchant, they’ll be LOADS of free kids’ activities and the perennial favourite and ultimate test of speed and skill… Bat the Rat!
 
    

​​This year we’re aiming to make our event as accessible as possible so our beautiful Balehouse will be a quiet sensory space which will have special quieter performances is for those who’d appreciate it. We’ve a super duper barefoot trail  and we’ll have a Fair Fairy on hand to give anyone who needs a little extra support.


SO we just need you! Our events rely on your help!  If you’ve got a spare hour or so on the day to bring along a cake or help on the day as a tea maker, pizza maker or to help on the plant stall – please please let me know! AND please help spread the word!  I’ve attached the poster below please print it out and put it up at your work!  At your child’s school or nursery!  In your window! Here’s the Facebook event link
 https://www.facebook.com/events/1874998862749928/  please tick going and invite ALL YOUR FRIENDS! (including those you’re not spoken to for 15 years) 
 
In other news, we’ve had some cracking stuff going on for families in the garden. The Sunday Club for families with a child/ren with a special education need or disability couldn’t have asked for a more glorious day.  A Golden Adventure Day highlight was watching the children flee from the giant eggs in our Easter egg hunt. And our family Inclusive day is now a blur of singing, pizza and smiles.


AND finally …We’ve still got a couple of spots in our Tuesday afterschool Golden Club where this week we munched on freshly picked pea shoots, watched newts, painted stones and the children got busy trapping themselves in a massive net. Great! Get on touch for a free taster session for anyone in year 1-6.
 

 
See you in the garden!
 
Lucy
 
Lucy Mitchell
Community Project Worker

07506 905 394
ghcgarden@gmail.com

Spring!

March 13, 2017

Hooray it’s spring! we’ve got seeds nosing their way up through compost in the polytunnels and bumble bees on the crocuses (crociii?). The pond is full of frogspawn and I can remember in our bones what summer feels like.  This is also the time when all the plans we’ve made kick into action.

Coming up we’ve lots of great stuff for families with a child/ren with SEND.  Thanks to the Quartet and John James Foundations and the Avon and Somerset Police we’ve got more inclusive Adventure Days planned as well as an exciting new Sunday Club!  Please let anyone you know who might be interested or let me know if you’d like to volunteer to help make these days especially special.
AND coming up as as well in the Easter holidays we’ve got our usual Golden Adventures Days where we’ll be going deep in the wild woods to live off our wits, make, craft, play, eat pizza and try not to be eaten by wolves. These days are always a hoot and are for 5-12 year old 11th and 18th April 10am-4pm £26 (£21 extra siblings) booking essential.
                 
Finally hats off to Pete and team for the Balehouse’s makeover, stepping inside is now like stepping inside a sun warmed daffodil.  Pictures don’t do it justice – you have to come and see it.  And a round of applause to the hardy team of volunteers who’ve spent the winter weeding, barrowing, chopping and chatting and cooking an array of delicious soups! Just great! Farewell to folks who’ve moved onto pastures new and we always ready to welcome new people along! Any Wednesday 10-4pm
So come join us as winter becomes spring, everything is springing into life and and you might even get on hands on one of our precious last winter leeks or be in time for some of the first juicy pink bit of rhubarb. Yum.
See you in the garden!
Lucy
P.S Giant Big Spring Fair 13th May! Put it on your calendars!
Lucy Mitchell

Community Project Worker

07506 905 394

November 17, 2016

H everyone!

 
Well!  Saturday night’s bonfire party was an absolute stonker!!  A massive thank you to everyone who came and brought their friends and family and helped us raise a whopping £1450, and a HUGE thank you to the Bishop Rd PTFA for organising the fireworks and a GIANT  thank you to the volunteers who worked so hard chopping, cooking, baking, mulling, guy making, fire building and all the rest. Just brilliant. Here’s  pic and you’ll just have imagine a crisp, cold, autumn night in the garden, the crescent moon low in the sky, mug of delicious soup in one hand, cup of scrumptious mulled apple juice in the other, lots of lovely folks and a great big bonfire.
fireworks and bonfire
 
 
 
And sorry to bring up Christmas so soon after bonfire night but just a quick note to say wreath making will be back on the 3rd December so pop that on your calendar and tell all your friends!
 
 

 willow-wreath-making-2016

 
And to finish… the latest pic in our exotic veg range 2016… yacón! The jury is still out on the taste – it’s not “like an underground pear” as we were promised but it’s supposed to sweeten up and maybe then it’ll more like “a cross between watermelon and mild celery”…. 
 
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See you in the garden!
 
Lucy

New season, new term.. HARVEST FAIR!!!

September 12, 2016

Ahhh farewell August!  It feels like just the other day we were munching our juicy and sweet polytunnel melon in the blazing sun ….
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but now all eyes turn ahead with the turning season to the new term and …… THE HARVEST FAIR
 
It’s going to be ggggggreat!  We’ve got an amazing story teller coming along, Simon the pizza king will be working his magic, there’s a rumour that the punk badger will be there(…with a brass instrument but he works in mysterious ways so let’s wait and see) and I can conform that YES….. Splat the Rat will be back!  And cake, and apple bobbing, and making vegetable creatures, and the A.M.A.Z.I.N.G Pip’s Jukebox taking your requests and DIY facepainting, and more!
   harvest-fair-2016
 
How are such wonders possible all in one place I hear you ask??? It’s because of our amazing team of fabulous volunteers… and you could be one of them!  Yes you!  WE NEED YOU! You’ll get a free cup of tea and piece of delicious cake and a lovely warm feeling from helping make this lovely day even more lovely! Please please please get in touch if you can spare some time on the day or bake us a cake or share our poster on your facebook wall or bring along everyone you know on the day!   
 
And our new term of Golden Buds stay and play group and our afterschool club started next week ! Still spaces in the 11:30 picnic session and it’s a great opportunity to learn the secret second verse of Incy Wincy Spider!

 
But before the Harvest Festival and the new term we’ve just got some time to smile fondly and reminisce about the Golden Adventure days and our inclusive families days which were just lovely.  Absolute highlights for me had to be either dipping freshly picked plums and raspberries into chocolate just melted on the fire.  Or hordes of children cheerfully picking off hordes of caterpillars before they could do too much damage to our broccoli – such sharp eye and tiny fingers!  
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These days went better than we could have hoped, we loved running them, the volunteers loved helping at them and the kids and families all had a great time.  We’ll hopefully be running plenty more stuff like this in the future and thank you to the local Wellbeing Small Grants fund for making it possible and the SEND a Welcome parents for their support and guidance and Mike and Emma and Sarah and Eve and Linsdey for volunteering
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And it’s a great time to come along and get involved on a Wednesday – just pop along any week between 10-4 we’re harvesting loads at the moment!  Peas, kale, chard, potatoes, tomatoes, aubergines, chillies, plums, apples, raspberries, radishes we might even unearth our precious precious carrots soon…and grapes! our first and only bunch (so far) happily munched this week.  Good times!
 
See you in the garden!
 
Lucy

Summer! and the goings on of summer!

July 29, 2016

Hi everyone,

I know I always say this but we’ve had a great couple of weeks in the garden. The Golden Buds toddler group went out in glory with a teddy’s bears picnic, a MASSIVE potato harvest (honestly! such an amazing amount of potatoes off a couple of plants! such tiny green fingers!) and an unnecessarily hot fire on the hottest day of the year. I’m just sorting out booking for next term so get in touch!   And we’d love some more help, the new term starts 6th September and it’s just a couple of joyful hours a week!
 
IMG_0087 (1)   IMG_0060
 
The Golden Club finished on a bang on the same scorching hot day with marshmallow fondue, water fights and next level pond dipping – i.e children dipping themselves in the pond.  It’s been a magnificent first couple of terms and we’re full for September but plan to run all year round so get in touch to get on the list! And if that sounds like fun… then why not come and help out?  We’d love more help and it’s only 3 hours and very very fun.  Term starts 6th Sept
 
 
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And now it’s the summer holidays so that means Golden Adventure days for 5 to 12 years oldsand we’ve already been busy making cool stuff, starting fires, munching pizza and commuting on a time travelling turtle – and there’s spaces available on the 16th, 23rd and 30th August.  (and of course we’d love help making these as fun as possible- get in touch to come and volunteer!)
 
We ran our first Inclusive Family Adventure Day yesterday and ….. it was FANTASTIC!   17 children from 9 (mostly) local families sang, toasted snacks on the fire, played parachute games, made pizza, lazed in homemade hammocks and enjoyed the new and absolutely fabulous sensory trail built by our volunteers in the edible forest.  It was a joy or as one participant said “really, really, really amazing”.  We’ve got space next week on the 4th (but we’re full for the 18th) so get in touch if you have a child with additional needs or a disability . It’s just a £5! Bug thanks to the Bristol City Council BCR Well Being fund for giving us the cash to make this possible, and keep an eye out for the SEND a Welcome folks working to make the community accessible for everyone.  Also (you’ve guessed it!) we’d love some more help on these days!  4th and 18th of August – just 4 hours of your time or just the morning or the afternoon to help give these families a cracking time in the garden. Let me know!
 
IMG_0129 (1)   IMG_0124
The garden is looking great!  The dragonflies are out on the pond, our new butterfly I.D sheets are being put to good use. Our beds are full of veg – purple beans! golden beetroot! black tomatoes! red potatoes! It’s been a great year for our veg.  Except the carrots. Don’t mention the carrots…  
 IMG_0105  IMG_0032 (1)
       
 
And we’re got a date for our Harvest Fair Saturday 17th September 1-4.  Please pop it on your diaries.  We always need more help! more music!  more cakes! and more idea to make our events lovely.  If you’d like to help organise it please let me know!  Apologies for the local clashes with other events.
 
AND finally a massive thanks to all the folks that make this possible! the amazing team of volunteers that get so much done, keep the garden looking amazing, and grow so much tasty stuff AND the folks that help out with our kids activities!! You know who you’re great!  And if it’s not clear above …. We’re always looking for more help so if you fancy helping any of the kids’ stuff this summer or with the new terms of the toddler groups or after school club then let me know!  It’s all lovely and many hands make light work!
 
See you in the garden!
 
Lucy